Gianpiero Lambiase will remain as Max Verstappen's race engineer this year in an unchanged head of racing role, despite rival Formula 1 teams trying to lure him away from the squad.
Lambiase's future in F1 has been the subject of speculation over recent weeks after it emerged that Aston Martin has been targeting a deal to get him on its future roster in a senior role - at team principal or CEO level.
Despite insiders indicating that talks have taken place, Aston Martin has not confirmed its interest and said that it does not comment on what it claims is speculation.
There have also been reports that other teams, with Williams having been mentioned, are interested in securing Lambiase's services should he become available.
But any talks about a future away from Red Bull are understood to be under consideration for the longer-term only, with sources claiming that Lambiase's current contract with the team runs until the end of 2027.
So even if a deal elsewhere was signed off in the next few weeks or months, Lambiase would still potentially not be available to any new employee for up to two full seasons unless an early contract severance was agreed between parties.
While it is understood that no decision has been made by Lambiase regarding what has been offered from other teams, for now his focus is on giving his all to Red Bull and especially continuing his support for Verstappen.
Red Bull has confirmed that Lambiase will be carrying on into 2026 as before, fulfilling his dual roles as Verstappen's race engineer and head of racing.
While some teams often put staff on immediate gardening leave if they join competitors, Red Bull has shown itself more willing to keep hold of senior personnel to see out their contracts.
Wheatley stayed on at Red Bull for a while despite having agreed a deal midway through 2024 to join Sauber as its new team principal, a role he took up in the early stages of last season.
More recently, Red Bull's head of race strategy Will Courtenay remained on the pitwall until late last year despite having agreed a deal to join McLaren in September 2024.
Courtenay's contract originally ran until the middle of 2026, and Red Bull had claimed initially that he would see this out. However, it emerged earlier this week that he has now started work at McLaren.
Writing on LinkedIn, Courtenay said: "After 22 years at Red Bull Racing, the last 15 as head of race strategy there, I'm excited to say I'm now embarking on a new challenge, joining the McLaren Racing Formula 1 team as sporting director.
"I'd like to say a huge thanks to everyone I worked with at Red Bull. I made so many great friends there and I hope I'll still see many of you in the paddock. It was an incredible two and a bit decades."
Lambiase has been Verstappen's race engineer since the Dutchman joined Red Bull at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix and has played an instrumental part in delivering four F1 drivers' world championship titles during their partnership.
At the end of last season, there had been some talk that Lambiase may step back from the race engineering aspect of his role to concentrate more on his wider head of racing responsibilities, after moving up to that role as part of a restructure triggered by the departure of sporting director Jonathan Wheatley in late 2024.
The initial possibility of him shifting jobs was fuelled by some emotional scenes on the pitwall at the 2025 Abu Dhabi season finale as it was suggested there could be a possible change over the winter.
